OK, tonight I installed a used MGW shifter which I bought from a CF member. Actually it went in pretty easy. It shifts great, except that it is truly a bit** to get into reverse. The stock shifter took quite a push to the side to engage reverse (more than any other car I've ever driven or owned), but I got used to that pretty quick. Now, engaging reverse requires a significant increase in force. To the point where I doubt that my wife is going to be able to get it in reverse at all. Is this something I should have expected? I have read a lot of posts about this product, but don't remember anyone mentioning this issue. More importantly, is there anything that I can do about it? I did clean and lube everything before I reassembled it. Thanks for your help.
Bill

 

You may want to contact MGW. They are very helpful. Mine is great and reverse is no more difficult than it was stock.

 

I had the same problem with mine, it felt like there was a lot more spring tension or something, I called RPM trans and talked to them about getting a lighter centering spring orsomething... The only gate centering mechanism is a small ball with a small spring behind it that can be accessed on the side of the tranny. The ball just ramps up and down as you go side to side from the 3-4 gate to the 1-2 gate or from 3-4 to 5-6 and 5-6 to reverse.

The problem with mine wasn't the shifter at all, it just amplified the problem since it has less leverage than the stock shifter from being shorter. On mine the shifter housing that the shifter bolts to has a lot of play in the shaft bushing at the end closest to the trans. It has about an 1/8th inch of play and the shaft had no lubrication so when I tried to move it side to side, it was very stiff and since reverse is 2 gates over it was the hardest. I still need to replace mine but I just lubed it real good for the time being and it works much better until I can buy the shifter housing assembly from the dealer. Check for play by taking the shifter off and feeling if the rod moves free and has no slop.

 

You may have bought one that wasn't the latest version. If so, it is going to be pretty stiff even with lighter detent springs. The newest version is spring free.

BJK

 

Reverse on my car has always been a tad difficult but I was able to make it a bit better by adjusting the connection between the shifter box and the rod going back to the tranny. Hint: when you install the MGW don't put everything (console, connectors, etc.) back until you have tried the thing for real.

There is a sweet spot for the clamp on the shaft where both first and reverse work with (relative) ease. Obviously, preference goes to first gear but you _can_ fiddle with it and make things better,

Z//

 

TI did check for worn bushings when I installed it, as another member had mentioned that they do wear. Bushings seemed ok. There were lots of tiny flakes of plastic in the shifter housing (I cleaned them out), which I figure came from the plastic ball on the end of the shifter. I also lubed each end of the shifter road, as it looked bone dry. I suppose I'll pull it apart and check again.

OK, here I'm a bit confused. I bought this used, so Im 100% it is not the lastest version. the bottom part looks just like what MGW shows on its website, but the top is little difference. But I didn't notice any detent spring in the MGW shifter. The shifter flopped around freely (I did put a little lube in it and worked it up into the big white plastic ball on which the shifter pivots). But I didn't see or feel any type of spring or detent.

Zox - where were you last night?

.

I confess I didn't see anything that looked like an adjustment to me. What exactly as I looking for, and how do I know (other than trial and error) that I'm adjusting so as to make things better instead of worse?

This idea seems to have some promise. Where exactly is this ball & spring located. Can I do anything other than clean and lube it?

Thanks to all for your thoughts and time.

BIll

 

Think about how the mechanism works. The shift lever is merely a means for you to move the rod that goes into the tranny - back and forth and rotationally. It's the rotation bit that is the issue with being able to get into first and/or reverse.

It's really important when you UNDO the original shifter that the car is in neutral. "Centered" if you will. That way, when you install the new unit its natural centering will be correct.

Anyway, what you want to do is take the console out again (grrr) to gain access to the single bolt that tightens the shifter box rod (not the shifter itself) to the 'transmission shift rod'. See pic.

Again, make sure that before you do anything else, you have the thing in neutral. Now loosen that bolt and you can adjust how much the rotation goes left and right to "reach" first and reverse. When you think you have it right, tighten that bolt up and try it. START THE CAR and try it. If you can drive the thing, that's even better (it's a really different experience driving the Z without the console and the heat and noise protection it normally provides!)

Before you put everything back together TIGHTEN that bolt. Seriously.

Z//

 

Zoxxo - Many thanks for the tip. I'll try it tomorrow. I know pretty much next to zip about how the mechanism works, but your instructions are clear and the pic is great. Very much appreciated.

Bill

 

Zoxxo - I tore out the console again - getting pretty quick at that. I now understand what you said about "centering." I tried tightening down the clamp at each extremity and in the middle. Really didn't seem to make a lot of difference one way or the other. The last 1/4" going into reverse is still a real struggle. I did notice that there seems to be some side to side play where the rod exist the shifter box (maybe 1/16"), and considering there was basically no grease in there when I first took it apart, I'm wondering if maybe the shift rod bushings are my problem?

George from MGW emailed me and thought that the reverse solenoid lockout was faulty or its fuse blown. Apparently it locks out reverse (by using a very beefy spring) if the engine is off or if you're going over 3 mph. Fuse was ok, but I guess the switch or solenoid could be bad. He's being very helpful, even tho I'm not the original purchaser.

Regards,
Bill

 

Customer service just doesn't get any better than what George provides!

BJK

 

George is great.

Play in the rod _could_ play a role but what I was getting at was that you might need to change the relationship between the shifter rod (the one that goes into the tranny) and the rod coming out of the shifter box.

1. Put it into neutral and shut the car off.
2. Loosen the clamp bolt (see pic) so that the shifter box rod moves freely in the tranny rod without moving the tranny rod. You should be able to wiggle the shifter around and not have the tranny rod move.
3. Move the shift **** slighty towards the driver's door and tighten the clamp down again while holding the **** in this new position. You want to rotate the shifter box rod slighty within the tranny rod.This results in the tranny rod rotating more towards the reverse gear position when you try to shift into reverse (and, negatively, cuts down on the ability to reach first gear position.)
4. Try it. If it doesn't work, go to step #1 and try again until it works or until you're convinced that it never will.

The trick here is getting enough rotational "reach" for reverse gear without eliminating the required reach for first gear.

It may be that you have some other issue in play here. All I can do is offer suggestions based upon my own experience with changing to the MGW. Since the relationship between the shifter box and the tranny rod shouldn't have been affected by the shifter switch, it's hard to say that it's the fault of the shifter change. The extra leverage that the stock shifter has can make existing problems seem smaller.

Z//

 

Quote:
The only gate centering mechanism is a small ball with a small spring behind it that can be accessed on the side of the tranny. The ball just ramps up and down as you go side to side from the 3-4 gate to the 1-2 gate or from 3-4 to 5-6 and 5-6 to reverse.

This idea seems to have some promise. Where exactly is this ball & spring located. Can I do anything other than clean and lube it?
End Qutoe:

The ball in the trans with the spring isn't what needs to be lubed, it's the shaft within the shifter housing that the MGW shifter ball mates up to that needs lubed. You'd be surprised what just a little slop in the shaft bushing can make in resistance, especially when it's dry... Sliding the shaft forward and backward doesn't cause the shaft to bind, but when you rotate it side to side it applys pressure to the side of the bushing and being dry, it has a lot of friction. When I had the whole drive train assembly dropped down and out of the car, I could twist the linkage rod easily and smoothly but when I put the shifter on and tried it, it was hard to shft again. Once I lubed the shaft and worked it back and forth to work it into the bushing, the stiffness was gone and the slop really wasn't as much of an issue. I can now feel it getting a little stiffer all the time so I'm going to buy the whole assembly (Under $200.)and do some modification to it to allow the grease to be maintained.

It's really a poor setup, it should have a boot assmebly like our axles have to allow it to stay lubricated.
You need a good grease that has excellent adhesive, cohesive and moisture resistant qualities such as Texas Refinery's, Red Moly, not something you can buy at Wally Mart, otherwise, it'll become a weekly a monthly ritual to keep it lubed...

PM me your address and I'll send you some. I used to be a "Lubricant Analyst" so I literally have about 50 different types of grease laying around, from all just about all the brand names that I used for testing. I think I could probably spare some...

 

I have an spare shifter box on my desk here and there is very little play in the shaft bearings.

For the shifter box in my car now, I disassembled it completely because it was not moving as freely as I thought it should. Upon cleaning everything, I saw some rough spots on the shafts from the machining process that ride in the bearings. So I polished them out with 600 grit wet/dry sand paper then lubed it with a dab of lithium grease. Seems to move easier.

I was not aware of any reverse lock out mechanism in the transmission so this is rather enlightening.

 

Since this is bonnevillebill's thread, he should have first shot at your shifter box but I'd be interested in it if he isn't, I probabably have close to a 1/4" of play in mine and it's moving free thanks to the grease but it's so sloppy it's making shifting tricky...

 

I had a similar experience , there are lighter springs available for the shifter. Also you can shim the detent bolt on the upper passenger side of the trans. Search the" anti venom mod" on this forum for details. I did both the springs and the shim, much better.